He wanted to tell his side of the story. In the summer of 1978, Rocco Perla and his older brother Anthony, back in Pittsburgh, were the ones who initially conceived the point-shaving scheme that would later rock the college basketball world. He wanted to win every foot race, every pickup game of basketball and sandlot football, or any other endeavor that ended with a final score and winning result. All Kuhn had to do was ensure that the Eagles fell short of the point spread in the games that they bet on. He yearned to shake himself free from being associated with the gangsters that would later be immortalized in the movie Goodfellas Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, Paul Vario and the Lucchese Crime Family apparatus that supported the biggest college sports point-shaving scandal since the 1950s. I could see myself coming into my own one day and doing that. Cobb and Sweeney admitted to accepting money, but both deny willingly participating while on the basketball court. He was naive at the time, believing that his exoneration would pave the way for apologies and acknowledgments of his innocence: from the NBA, the federal government and Boston College. Thoughts continuously raced through Cobbs mind: How had he arrived here, he wondered, of all places, charged with allegedly conspiring to commit sports bribery while allegedly fixing college basketball games for the mob? Boom_70, Aug 31, 2011 #5. mrblake New Member. Were you shaving points for the mob?. Jim Sweeney and Ernie Cobb) were brought to trial for point-shaving during the '78- '79 season. Sep 28, 1980 - Ernie Cobb, . The game had saved his life, delivered him from peril, from a path leading nowhere, from dysfunction and illiteracy, to an elite college education and a shot at the NBA and a better future. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. When Henry Hill started threatening Kuhn and Sweeney, promising that they couldnt play with broken limbs, the players, according to Hill, claimed that they were doing their best, but the scheme would never work unless Ernie Cobb was in on the fix. was favored to win a game by ten points, Kuhn had to make sure, if the game was in play with the mobsters and the bookies, that they won by less than ten in order for the gamblers to make money. He told him that he had talent, but that wasnt enough. Professor Emeritus Richard Cobb-Stevens, a widely praised phenomenology scholar who chaired the Philosophy Department for nine years and played a leadership role in the revision of Boston College's core curriculum during the early 1990s, died on July 6. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. We lived in dormitories. October 11th, 2021 , 09:01. A fitness fanatic who augmented his training by swimming and riding his bicycle very long distances, Cobb hopped on his ten-speed shortly after the indictment was announced and began pedaling. At trial in 1981, the government's case consisted primarily of the testimony . It devastated me as a youngster. A documentary about the Boston College point-shaving scandal is . Cobb eventually cleared his name and Sweeney was never . The point-shaving allegations surfaced during an unrelated investigation into the 1978 theft of $5.8 million from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New Yorks Kennedy Airport. standards like the rest of the students, most who came from wealthy and very strong academic backgrounds. Sweeney said he decided to cooperate with Lavine and co-director Cayman Grant because he believed they would treat the subject fairly. She helped tutor me, and encouraged me through some rough spots. The day I got to Stamford High School, Coach Alswanger was there waiting for me. We might have worn the hand-me-downs of the families that she worked for, but we always had clean clothes. On June 23rd, 1983, more than four years after hed played his final game at Boston College, Ernie Cobb was indicted and charged with taking cash bribes to alter the outcomes of games against Harvard, Rhode Island and Fordham. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. He had this unbelievable desire to succeed and you could tell that he wasnt going to let anything stand in his way.. These Boston College basketball players were way better than being involved with "Goodfella" Henry Hill and his underworld associates. Three basketball players at Boston College Jim Sweeney, Ernie Cobb, and Richard Kuhn became entangled with members of the Mafia in a points-shaving scandal during the 1978-79 season. His competitive desires were satisfied with all of the recreation activities that were offered. We werent locked in individual cells. But what was I going to do, take it to court?It was here that they began telling Perla we would have to have Cobb. So Lavine was fascinated when he found out that Sweeney was one of a handful of Eagles players accusted in connection with a the point-shaving scandal that was making national headlines in 1981. The story: Three Boston College players leading scorer Ernie Cobb, forward Richard Kuhn and Sweeney, the team's point guard were fingered by Hill for participating in the point-shaving scheme. Players profiled in the book include Rick Kuhn, who pulled his teammates into the plot and paid for it with a 10-year prison sentence; Jim Sweeney, a prep school graduate and honor student who found himself trapped between gamblers and a conscience that wouldn't let him cheat his teammates; and leading . I was tremendously focused because I knew that I was going places., In my neighborhood, people didnt go to college, said Cobb. But changing his behaviors did not happen overnight. The Ernie Cobb-as-point-fixer story is ancient, but I'm still that guy who supposedly got away with something." This is Part II of The Shadow League's feature story on former Boston College basketball player Ernie Cobb. As he walked across the scenic campus, marveled at the schools architectural splendor or ate until his hearts content in the dining hall, hed often pause to quietly give thanks for his fortunate circumstances. At 11:05 a.m., U.S. District Judge Leonard Wexler completed his instructions to the jury in the Federal Court Building in Brooklyn as Ernie Cobb awaited his judgment. Utah Jazz, 6th round (1st pick, 109th overall), 1979 NBA Draft, More Ernie Cobb pages at Sports Reference, More Ernie Cobb Basketball Reference pages. Ernie Cobb played professional basketball in Israel for 17 years, where he learned to speak fluent Hebrew. It was the first time he saw the game as something that could improve his life, something that could take him places. Did Uncle Neely Forget Which Side He Plays For? I didnt think anything of it. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. He recently earned his Masters Degree in Education and is currently considering pursuing a Ph.D. I feel like Ive led a remarkable life, he said. On the stand during the trial, Rick Kuhns girlfriend, Barbara Reed, with whom he shared an apartment during his senior year at Boston College, testified that she overheard Kuhn and Sweeney discussing the Fordham game, saying that they had to keep the ball away from Cobb because he shot the ball all the time. Kuhn was the only player convicted -- receiving a record 10-year sentence -- and served 28 months in prison. We werent really checking for B.C. We are not making it all up in our heads, thinking well of Kris Dunn because we want to: he has real talents to bring, and a body that for the time being will allow him to use them. The game had saved his life, delivered him from peril, from a path leading nowhere, from dysfunction and illiteracy, to an elite college education and a shot at the NBA and a better future. I hadnt seen Ernie for several years, Jack Hennessey, a psychologist at Boston College that had served as an informal academic advisor during Cobbs days as a student, told the New York Times in April of 1984. Canvas; Clever; Edgenuity; Email / Office 365 / One Drive; Enroll Online; Gaggle (CTE) GCU Learning Lounge; Gradpoint; HMH Reading Inventory; Illuminate Student Log in The third-highest scorer in BC history with 1,760 points, he was a co-captain with Sweeney in 1978-79, when he averaged 21.3 points a game. Leading scorer Ernie Cobb was accused . Its something that hes still waiting for, to this day. During his court hearing, the judge sentenced him to a six-month sentence in the Meriden Juvenile Detention Facility. Ernie listened intently. Detroit Mercys Antoine Davis Creeping Up On Pistol Pete Maravichs All-Time NCAA Scoring Mark, A Poor Mans Danny Ainge A Poor Mans Jeff Hornacek: Michael Cooper Torches JJ Redick, I Guard 1 Through 5 | Heats Bam Adebayo Believes He Is NBAs Best Defender And Has Been The Past Two Years. COBB, ERNEST CONSTANTINE. rick kuhn boston college now. The main thing was that they were really trying to rehabilitate us and teach us, hoping to turn us around before we became hardened criminals. As for his role in what happened, Sweeney says hes never run from the truth. My parents have suffered. But by the next summer, in 1980, he sparkled while playing for the New Jersey Nets during the pre-season. From that point on, I wanted to become the best basketball player that I could possibly be.. Kuhn was a BC player at the center of the controversy. Thats why I got into education and coaching. Ernie Cobbs story, in retrospect, is a modern-day adaptation of a Horatio Alger novel, seemingly lifted straight from the pages of Ragged Dick, where the impoverished boy, through determination, honesty and courage, rises out of despair, toward a life of comfort and respectability. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com . The Boston Globe's Bob Hohler documented Kuhn's role in the scandal and his luring of Sweeney and fellow captain Ernie Cobb in a March 2014 profile: . . Boston College 84 Reuben Holmes, Alabama State 107 Bart Kofoed, Kearney State 130 Art Sabb, Bloomfield College 153 Keith Webster, Harvard 1988. He eats it up. It was like this whole new world opened up to him and his desire to succeed was unreal. Sweeney fessed up to taking $500 under duress and escaped prosecution. I was doing well academically and the dream of playing professional basketball was getting closer.. Who was involved in the Boston College basketball scandal? Stamford (108,056) Ernie Cobb (Boston College basketball), Gary Cobb (NFL, 11 years), Donna Lopiano (Raybestos Brakettes), Dick Mayer (1957 U.S. Open golf champion), Andy Robustelli (Pro Football . (Boston College, photo credit: bostonmagazine.com), Academically, it was a great school and my family could come and see me play, he said. When he told Alswanger about the indictment, his old high school coach spoke sternly with him, as he'd done sometwelveyears earlier when Cobb had just returned home fromthe juvenile detention facility. Meridan had all this space and all these green fields where you could just run, said Cobb. He sold copy machines and paved driveways for an asphalt company, which was ironically the same job his father found when hed relocated from North Carolina to Connecticut some twenty years earlier. And I dont think it ever stayed with me.. But Ill always be curious about certain things that went on.. Jack McCluskey | Special to ESPNBoston.com, '30 For 30' tackles BC point-shaving scandal, Steve Addazio calls Tyler Murphy clincher vs. USC, Harvard's Zack Hodges gets his shot with Colts, Wesley Saunders helps Harvard recover to capture crucial Ivy win, Beanpot final, consolation moved to Feb. 23, Signing Day Notes: Fences going up for local programs, Boston College unveils 25-man recruit class, Northeastern knocks BC from Beanpot throne. I never got to realize my dream of playing in the NBA, but Ive been all over the globe and have experienced so many different and beautiful cultures. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. Jim Sweeney was not charged. As a junior, he averaged 37.6 points per game and was named All-State. He was 83. And in that article in Sports Illustrated, Henry Hill says, The word came back that Cobb was enthusiastic. The key phrase there is The word came back. I dont know what Rick Kuhn was telling Henry Hill or the Perla brothers. I excelled. He is a friend who has quietly built a considerable reputation within college basketball for honesty and tactical brilliance but who now is living the horror every coach dreads most -- a point . Couldnt people see how much he loved the game? My family has suffered. By my junior year, it was show-time, said Cobb. Career Length: Rookie More bio, uniform, draft, salary info. 11. 17 Eric Leckner, Wyoming I told him, you cant just be great on offense, you gotta play great defense as well.. inStamford,Connecticut It was all so positive.. Birthplace/Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut, Height: 5-11 (180cm) Weight: 180 (82kg), Current NBA Status: Unrestricted Free Agent. That includes Rick Kuhn, the former minor league baseball player who started the scandal and who Sweeney says got him involved in it. The Shadow League is a narrative company. He loved the foliage, the fresh air and scenery. I thought he might have been a student, because he was young and I saw him hanging around Rick Kuhn all the time. The teachers lived in our same community and they had relationships with our parents outside of the school. He was this little guy who could score like crazy! Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. By his senior season, he was an All-American. Here was this kid who had all the odds stacked against him, and he was so committed to being successful., His focus and work ethic was amazing, Alswanger continued. I really wanted to get to the bottom of it from a personal curiosity [standpoint], and then also knowing that this had to be a great story.. Proactive and highly responsive counselor to students, parents, faculty, community and district needs. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. But Im so proud of him because he picked his life back up and made the best of it. Hill flew into Boston, at the behest of Jimmy Burke, late in 1978 to meet with Mazzei, the Perlas, Kuhn and Sweeney at the Logan Airport Hilton and ensure that everything was in place. Every accomplishment made me want to work harder. But I wasnt sure if I was really up to B.C. His sister was going through some struggles. During the 1978-78 basketball season, Boston College was the latest team scandalized by a point shaving scheme involving the New York mob. By Bob Hohler Globe Staff,March 16, 2014, 12:00 a.m. Rick Kuhn (No. talked to the Nets, their head coach Kevin Loughery called him in and said, You know why I have to let you go, said Alswanger. I loved it in Israel, the fans loved me and the people were so beautiful. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. Last Name. Find Ernest Cobb's current house address. 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